1

A: "What did you do last night?"

B: "I met some friends and we had some drinks at a bar."
A: "Did you drink a lot?"
B: "I got so drunk that I don't remember how I got home."
A: "Why did you drink so much?"
B: "I was so depressed. I just wanted to forget about everything."
2
A: "How was the airplane ride?"
B: "It was a twelve hour flight. It was so boring. I tried to sleep but it was too uncomfortable on
the plane."
A: "How about the movies they play on international flights?"
B: "I saw both movies they played. I was just unlucky?"
A: "Did you take a book with you?"
B: "I accidentally packed it with my luggage that I checked in."
3
A: "What did you do last weekend?"
B: "I went to a party."
A: "How was the party?"
B: "It was way too crowed and the food was gone before I got there."
A: "What time did you get home?"
B: "It was pretty boring so I left at ten and got home before eleven."
4
Person A: "Why didn't you come to my party last night?"
Person B: "I'm sorry I couldn't make it. I had to go visit my grandmother at the hospital."
Person A: "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Is she doing ok?"
Person B: "They just completed a small operation and the doctors said she should recover."
5
Person A: "Did you get a chance to go to that new restaurant down the street?"
Person B: "Yeah. I ordered the special, but the server screwed up my order."
Person A: "That sucks. So what ended up happening?"

Person B: "They finally got my steak out, but it was overcooked. It was a terrible experience."
6
Person A: "What did you do last weekend?"
Person B: "I went on a date with Sammy."
Person A: "Really? How was it?"
Person B: "I couldn't ask for a better night. We talked all throughout our two hour dinner, and
then we sat by the river and cuddled in the night."
7
Person A: "Didn't you finish finals week?"
Person B: "Don't remind me. I think I failed most of the exams."
Person A: "Why did you do so terrible?"
Person B: "My mind just went blank. I think I overloaded my brain. I just couldn't concentrate
during the exams."

Reading
Sick on Saturday (simple past)
I have just had a terrible weekend! On Saturday I was so tired that I slept all morning. When
I woke up I had a head ache and my throat was sore. My body ached all over. My nose ran and
I coughed a lot. My mother took my temperature but I did not have a fever.
My mother made me some soup for lunch and I ate it in bed. I drank some juice. I tried to read
a book but I couldnt keep my eyes open. I lay in bed all afternoon. I drifted in and out of sleep.
I drank more juice. I felt miserable all afternoon. I didnt want to do anything.
I got out of bed at dinner time. My parents ordered pizza for dinner and I was able to eat some
of it. I drank more juice! I felt a bit better after dinner so I stayed up. I snuggled under a
blanket on the couch and watched some TV with my parents. I fell asleep in front of the TV.
The next morning I felt better but now my mother had a cold! She looked miserable. It was her
turn to be sick.
Vocabulary help:

ache (verb) - hurts, is painful

asleep (adjective) - to be sleeping

couch (noun) - furniture to sit on

drifted (verb) past tense of to drift - to move slowly

drifted in and out of sleep - when you are not really awake but not really asleep either

miserable (adjective) - sad, unhappy, unpleasant

snuggled (verb) past tense of to snuggle - to move into a warm, comfortable position

terrible (adjective) - very bad,

woke up (verb) past tense of wake up - to stop sleeping

Comprehension Check:
Did you understand the story? Are these sentences true?
1. The boy was sick on Saturday. Yes or no?
2. On Sunday his father was sick. Yes or no?
3. He had a fever on Saturday. Yes or no?
4. He ate dinner in bed on Saturday. Yes or no?
Fill in the Blanks:
5. The family had _______________ for dinner on Saturday.
6. On Saturday night the boy fell asleep while he __________________________.
7. He had a head ______________ and his throat was ________________.
8. The boy drank lots of _______________.
9. What is the present tense of these verbs? tried _____________, took ________________,
felt ________________, did _________________

Skating! (simple past)

This winter I learned to skate! A friend of mine had an extra pair of skates. He persuaded me to
go skating with him one Saturday afternoon in February. I borrowed the skates and we
went skating!
It was cold outside! We wore hats, scarves and mitts to keep warm. He showed me how to put
on the skates. He helped me walk onto the ice. He showed me how to start moving. He also
showed me how to stop! I moved very slowly at first and lots of people skated past me. When
I fell nobody laughed at me. Instead, they helped me get back up. I kept trying! Soon I felt
much better. I liked skating!
Vocabulary help:

awhile (adverb) - for a short time.

afternoon (noun) - the time of day between noon and evening

better (adjective) - comparative form of good. Good, better, best are the three forms of the
word good.

borrow (verb) - to use something that belongs to someone else and give it back later

extra (adjective) - more than usual.

instead (adverb) - in place of; rather

kept (verb) past tense of to keep - to continue.

mitt (noun) - a mitten. A type of glove with a single part for all the fingers except the
thumb which is in a separate part.

moving (verb) present participle of to move

onto (preposition) - to a position on or on top of.

pair (noun) - two things that are the same and are used together. Examples, a pair of
gloves, a pair of socks

persuade (verb) - to cause someone to do something by explaining why they should.

scarves (noun) plural of scarf - a long piece of cloth worn around the neck, head, or
shoulders.

skate (noun) - a shoe with a blade attached to the bottom. Skates are used to move on ice

skate (verb) - to move along on ice skates or roller skates.

skating (verb) - present participle of to skate

trying (verb) present participle of to try

warm (adjective) - having some heat; not cold

Comprehension Check:
Did you understand the story? Are these sentences true?
1. In the past tense the word feel becomes the word felt. Yes or no?
2. In the past tense the word fall becomes the word fell. Yes or no?
3. When he fell, people laughed at him. Yes or no?
4. Wearing hats and scarves will help keep you warm on a cold day. Yes or no?
5. You can skate outside in the summer in Canada. Yes or no?
Fill in the Blanks:
6. If you want to _________ to do something, you have to keep trying!
7. When he _____________ nobody laughed at him.
8. He borrowed a pair of skates from a ___________ who had an extra pair of skates.
9. They went skating on a _______________ in February.
10. They wore hats and mitts because it was _______________ outside that day.
11. His friend ____________ him walk onto the ice.
Questions in the past
"How did you enjoy the movie?"
"What time did you get home last night?"
"How was your date with Jackie?"
"How was the traffic going to the airport?"
"What have you been up to?"
"What did you do last weekend?"
"How was the party?"
"How come you didn't come to class yesterday?"
"How did your presentation go?"

Thanksgiving Dinner (past perfect)

Last Thanksgiving my parents had a large family dinner at their house. Getting ready for
Thanksgiving dinner takes a lot of work.
The day started well and by late afternoon we had completedmost of the work. Everyone had
helped to make the meal a success. We had put the turkey in the oven earlier that day so the
house was starting to smell like roast turkey. The grandchildren had finished setting the table for
Thanksgiving dinner. My aunt had made two pies for dessert, a pumpkin pie and an apple pie.
My brother and I had peeled the carrots and the potatoes. We had just turned on the stove to
start cooking the vegetables when the power went out! The oven stopped working! We couldnt
cook the vegetables! The turkey wouldnt finish cooking! We waited. We talked. We went for a
walk.
We had waited two hours by the time the power came back on. We had almost given up hope.
Dinner was late that night but it was a Thanksgiving dinner that we wont forget.
Vocabulary help:

afternoon (noun) - the time of day between noon and evening

aunt (noun) - the sister of one's mother or father, or the wife of one's uncle.

complete (verb) - to finish

cook (verb) - to prepare food for eating by using heat.

dessert (noun) - sweet food that is eaten after the main part of a meal

dinner (noun) - the main meal of the day.

given up (phrasal verb) - past tense of give up - to stop or to admit defeat

grandchildren (noun) plural of grandchild - the child of one's son or daughter.

meal (noun) - when you eat, or the food that you eat at that time. Example: Lunch is a
meal that we eat in the middle of the day

oven (noun) - a piece of equipment that you cook food in. An oven has a large metal box
with a door

parent (noun) - a mother or a father.

peel (verb) - to remove the outer covering from something.

pie (noun) - a cooked dish that has a crust made of dough and a thicker layer of fruit,
meat, or something else on top of it. Sometimes it has another layer of crust on top of
that.

power (noun) - energy that can do work

roast (adjective) - something that is roasted.

roast (verb) - to cook with dry heat, as in an oven.

smell (verb) - to sense something by means of the nose.

turned on (phrasal verb) - past tense of turn on - to cause something to begin. Example:
Turn on the lights if it is too dark to see.

vegetables (noun) - a plant you can eat, examples: potatoes, corn and onions

Comprehension Check:
Did you understand the story? Are these sentences true?
1. The word had is used when making the past perfect verb tense. Yes or no?
2. Use the past participle of the main verb when making the past perfect. Yes or no?
3. My aunt made two apple pies for dessert. Yes or no?
4. When the power went out there was no electricity. Yes or no?
5. The turkey was finished cooking before the power went out. Yes or no?

Fill in the Blanks:

6. It was two _______________ before the power came back on.
7. My brother and I had _____________ the vegetables for dinner.
8. Everyone had ______________ to make the meal a success.
9. By late afternoon we ____________ completed most of the work.

10. For Thanksgiving dinner we had _____________ and vegetables and then we had pie for
_______________.
A Cake was Made (past tense, passive voice)
Seven tablespoons of cocoa powder were measured into a small bowl. Half a cup of boiling
water was added. The mixturewas stirred until it was smooth. It was left to cool down.
A half cup of softened butter was put in a large bowl. Two cups of white sugar were added.
The mixture was stirred until it was smooth. Next, three eggs were added and the mixture was
stirred again.
The dry ingredients were added next - two cups of flour, 1 teaspoon of baking powder and 1
teaspoon of baking soda. The last additions that were made to the batter was a cup of sour cream
and all of the cocoa mixture. The batter was mixed well.
The batter was poured into two cake tins. The cakes were baked in the oven for 45 minutes.
After the cakes had cooled, chocolate icing was spread over them and the cakes were
decorated. The best part was saved for last.... the cakes were eaten!
Vocabulary help:

add (verb) - to put something else in

additions (noun) - something that is added

batter (noun) - a mixture of flour, liquid & sometimes eggs that is used to make cakes

decorate (verb) - to make attractive by adding things to it

half = 1/2

ingredients (noun) - the different things that go into a food

measure (verb) - to find the amount of something

mixture (noun) - substances that have been added together make a mixture

smooth (adjective) - has no lumps in it

sour cream (noun) - cream or milk that has been soured using bacteria.

spread (verb) - to cover an area of something

stirred (verb) past tense of to stir - to mix with a spoon

tablespoon = 15 ml

teaspoon = 5 ml

Comprehension Check:
Did you understand the story? Are these sentences true?
1. It was a chocolate cake. Yes or no?
2. One cake was made. Yes or no?
3. The best part was eating the cake! Yes or no?
4. Two bowls were used to make the cake. Yes or no?

Fill in the Blanks:

5. The dry ingredients were _____________________, baking powder and baking soda.
6. The cakes were in the _________________ for 45 minutes.
7. __________________ icing was spread over the cake.
8. ______________ a cup of boiling water was used to make the cake.
9. The last things added to the batter were the cocoa _______________ and the sour
________________.
Late for the Party (past perfect, passive voice)
Last week-end my sister had a birthday party. There was a snowstorm that day and the traffic was
horrible. I was so late I missed most of the party. By the time I arrived all the cake had been
eaten and most of the wine had been drunk. All the gifts had been opened too. Songs had
been sung and wishes had been said. A good time was had by everyone! I stayed long enough
to finish the last of the wine and help my sister clean up after the party. The drive home was
much easier because the roads had been plowed by the time I left my sisters apartment.
Vocabulary help:

clean up (phrasal verb) - to make a place (or person) clean and tidy

horrible (adjective) very bad or very unpleasant

plowed (verb) past tense of to plow If a road has been plowed it usually means that a
snow plow has removed the snow from the road.

sung (verb) past tense of to sing

traffic (noun) the cars & trucks using a road

Comprehension Check:
Did you understand the story? Are these sentences true?
1. There was cake and wine at the party. Yes or no?
2. The sister received some birthday gifts. Yes or no?
3. The apartment was cleaned up after the party. Yes or no?
4. The drive home was slow. Yes or no?
5. The word had is used in forming the past perfect tense. Yes or no?

Fill in the Blanks:

6. By the time I arrived all the cake had ________ eaten.
7. The drive home was much easier because the roads had been _______________.
8. All the wine had been ________________.
9. I was late for my sister's _________________ party.
10. Songs had been ____________ and wishes ____________ been said.